Matelica Cathedral ( it, Concattedrale or ''Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano cree ...

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Formerly the episcopal seat of the

Diocese of Matelica The Italian Catholic diocese of Fabriano-Matelica ( la, Dioecesis Fabrianensis-Mathelicensis) in the Marche has existed under this name since 1986. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo. History The history of Fabriano is clos ...

, it is now a co-cathedral in the

Diocese of Fabriano-Matelica The Italian Catholic diocese of Fabriano-Matelica ( la, Dioecesis Fabrianensis-Mathelicensis) in the Marche has existed under this name since 1986. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo. History The history of Fabriano is clo ...

History and description

The first cathedral of Matelica was built in the historical centre of the town, but fell into ruin after the bishop's seat was moved elsewhere, and was finally demolished in 1530. It had already been replaced as the town's main church in the 15th century by the church of Santa Maria della Piazza, which was made the cathedral under the name of Santa Maria Assunta in 1785 when Matelica was restored as a bishopric. The

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, which dates from the 15th century, is most unusually positioned in the centre of the cathedral's west front. This has sometimes led to suppositions over whether the present church building occupies the same position as the original church or whether repeated re-buildings and restorations over time have had the effect of moving it. Among the works of art in the cathedral, of particular note for the fine quality of the workmanship is an 18th-century

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

in wood and silver by Giovanni Giardini of

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

References

Website of the Diocese of Fabriano-Matelica: parish of the cathedral

{{coord, 43.2576, N, 13.0087, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Matelica Cathedrals in the Marche